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Korea Herald
26-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Korea Herald
Arts Council Korea to Host ARKO Global Week Presenting A Global Vision: Connecting Korean Arts with the World
SEOUL, South Korea, May 26, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The Arts Council Korea (ARKO) is hosting "ARKO Global Week," from May 24 until May 30, 2025, featuring a series of major international programs and events that reinforce Korea's role as a global cultural hub. The week includes the 10th World Summit on Arts and Culture, which brings together global leaders from the arts and culture sectors, and APE CAMP, a collaborative platform fostering innovation between emerging artists and technology developers worldwide. Through these efforts, ARKO seeks to position Korea as a key player in international cultural exchange and to open a new chapter in its global engagement strategy. ARKO Announces Global Vision and New International Strategies At a press briefing on May 14 at the ARKO Art Center in Daehak-ro, Seoul, Chairman Byoung Gug Choung unveiled ARKO's new global vision, themed "Connecting Korean Arts with the World." He also outlined a suite of strategic initiatives aimed at deepening international collaboration and creative development, including: 10th World Summit on Arts and Culture to Convene in Daehak-ro The 10th World Summit on Arts and Culture, co-hosted by ARKO and the International Federation of Arts Councils and Culture Agencies (IFACCA), will be held May 27–30 in Daehak-ro. The event is expected to bring together over 400 professionals from more than 80 countries, including 105 speakers representing 62 nations, comprising policymakers, cultural leaders, scholars, artists, and government officials. Under the theme "Charting the Future of Arts and Culture," the summit will tackle global challenges such as AI and digital transformation, climate change, and community resilience, focusing on how the arts can respond to and shape these evolving realities. APE CAMP: A Global Crossroads for Artists and Tech Innovators Launched in 2022, APE CAMP is now in its fourth year as APE CAMP is ARKO's signature international platform for interdisciplinary collaboration. This year's edition attracted over 200 applicants from 67 countries, demonstrating growing global interest. The program includes: The 2025 edition will gather 100 participants from 22 countries, mentored by leading institutions including ZKM (Germany) and SAT (Canada). Participants will engage in hands-on creative experiments that blend artistic vision with emerging technologies. Commemorating 30 Years of the Korean Pavilion at the Venice Biennale To mark the 30th anniversary of the Korean Pavilion at the Venice Biennale, ARKO is presenting the architecture exhibition "Little Toad, Little Toad: Unbuilding Pavilion", on view from May 10 to November 23 at the Giardini in Venice. The exhibition reflects on the past, present, and future of the Korean Pavilion, with a particular focus on sustainability in the architecture of national pavilions. On May 9, ARKO hosted a dedicated architecture forum, "Vision and Legacy: 30 Years of the Korean Pavilion," featuring key figures such as Franco Mancuso, co-architect of the Korean Pavilion, and Cho Min-suk, commissioner of the 2014 Golden Lion-winning exhibition. Launch of ARKO Art Studio and Expansion of International Programs ARKO recently opened the ARKO Art Studio in Pyeongchang-dong, Seoul - a new creative base for visual artists. The facility includes five private studios, an outdoor performance stage, and an academic hall. It will host 10 resident artists, with programming that includes cultural tours, mentorship, seminars, open studios, art fair participation, and exhibitions. In addition, ARKO is expanding global partnerships to support Korean artists abroad. Current collaborators include: In 2025, ARKO is running residency programs with 23 partner organizations across five global regions and has launched new collaborations with institutions such as New Museum's NEW INC (USA), transmediale (Germany), and Ain Shams University (Egypt). New initiatives to support the international visibility of Korean arts include: Additionally, ARKO is also enhancing inbound cultural exchange through a new Inbound Cooperation Program themed around "Regional Decline," encouraging dialogue and experimental artistic responses to this urgent issue. Chairman Choung concluded, "ARKO will continue to take bold steps to foster a sustainable ecosystem for Korean arts. By transcending borders and partnering with global institutions, we aim to make Korean arts more accessible, more connected, and more inspiring to the world." Press materials and images are available for download via the Arts Council Korea Google Drive. [ARKO] 2025_Global Week presskit - Google Drive
Korea Herald
06-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Korea Herald
Sold-out final run of 'Godot' by two veteran stars
Shin Gu, Park Geun-hyung donate one night to next generation of theater artists It's not every day a theater production sells out instantly in Korea -- let alone one headlined by two octogenarian actors. But Shin Gu, 88, and Park Geun-hyung, 84, have done it again. Tickets for their final run of 'Waiting for Godot' were snapped up the moment they went on sale. The production runs from Friday through May 25 at the National Theater of Korea's Daloreum Theater. This farewell staging marks the end of a landmark collaboration that has captivated audiences since its 2023 premiere. From its debut at the National Theater in December 2023, to an encore run in 2024 and a 21-city national tour, the production has sold out 102 performances. Samuel Beckett's existential masterwork, a cornerstone of 20th-century absurdist theater, follows two vagabonds, Estragon (played by Shin) and Vladimir (Park), who wait and wait endlessly for a mysterious figure named Godot, who never arrives. Shin and Park, long embraced as familiar father figures and steady on-screen mainstays, deliver an interplay onstage -- seasoned and rhythmic back-and-forth -- that has resonated deeply with audiences. Both in their 80s, they aren't exactly the usual stage heartthrobs -- but the actors credited the show's sold-out success to audiences in their 20s and 30s, a demographic not typically drawn to modernist absurdist drama. 'Young people today live in a world filled with absurdities,' Shin said during a recent press conference. 'I think they connected with the play because the irrational world Beckett created feels close to their own.' Park agreed. 'Waiting for something that may not even exist -- isn't that just like life? Especially for young people today,' he said. 'That's why we decided to dedicate one of our final shows as a donation performance -- to connect with them more directly.' For that one-night benefit performance, scheduled for May 13, both actors waived their appearance fees. In adidtion, all proceeds from that performance, will be donated to a fund established by the Arts Council Korea, a national development agency for the arts of Korea, to support emerging theater artists. 'With all this love we've received, we wondered how we could give something back,' said Shin. 'We wanted to return the favor -- not only with a good performance, but with something that might help younger artists in a meaningful way.' The two said it was disheartening to see that the theater environment they experienced in their youth has changed so little even now. 'The arts need a strong foundation to grow,' Park added. 'Just as a nation needs a solid base to stand upright. Now that we're in the twilight of our lives -- physically and spiritually -- this is something we felt we had to do.' 'The theater world is, in truth, facing a difficult situation. Many actors working in this field are genuinely going hungry. According to statistics, 50 percent of theater actors earn less than 250,000 won ($180) a month purely from theater work,' said Arko Chairman Choung Byoung-gug. 'The seed money will grow into something larger. We'll be launching a campaign to encourage broader donations, building on the generosity of these two great artists,' Choung added.
Korea Herald
20-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Korea Herald
Dancing to faraway places where memory, dreams weave new lands
99 Art Company's 'Les Voyageurs du Lointain' bridges West African, Korean cultures A group of dancers chant softly, occasionally repeating the phrase "Yiriba, yiriba." Reverently carrying a balafon, the barefoot dancers circle the stage, which trembles gently under their rhythmic stomps. The scene transports the audience into the world of "pian," a term in Korean that suggests a faraway realm beyond reality. 'Les Voyageurs du Lointain" (French for "The Voyagers to Afar') is a new work by 99 Art Company and one of 31 productions featured in this year's ARKO Selection, the Arts Council Korea's annual performing arts support project. The work had its first run on Feb. 13-16. Choreographer Jang Hye-rim said the ritual-like scene was inspired by two griots from Burkina Faso, currently living in Korea, who explained how the gourd-resonated xylophone is made. A griot is a hereditary profession in West African culture. Through the preservation of oral histories, griots serve as historians, storytellers, singers, poets and musicians integral to the region's cultural heritage. Jang got in touch with Emmanuel Migaelle Sanou, a dancer from Burkina Faso living in Korea, and was introduced to two other Burkinabe members of Koule Kan, an African music troupe in Korea, while researching a previous work. At the audience talk after the performance on Saturday, Salifou Diabate, one of the griots, recounted the stories and explained how the trees used to make the instruments are chosen: The wood must come from a dead tree. Once the tree dies, they wait three years before cutting it down, allowing the wood to bid farewell to its surrounding trees. When the wood is finally cut, it is by hand, not with machines, and the instruments must also be made by hand. 'It was such a beautiful story. I thought, I shouldn't just let this instrument appear, so I created that scene,' Jang explained. The word 'yiriba' means 'big trees,' she added. The production beautifully merges traditional music and dance from Burkina Faso with Korean dance, creating a unique artistic voyage. It's as if the dancers are performing a ritual for the earth. Jang noted that Korean dance often draws inspiration from nature, which naturally led her to consider the meaning of land. 'What land?' was the question that soon followed. 'The land we live on is land, but nature's land is also land, and the land that has been destroyed is land, too. All these thoughts led to the realization that the land is not ours but something we have been gifted, a place we must care for,' said Jang. 'This made me ponder over whether we are not also beings of migration. Then, I wondered what it would mean for a human with a history of migration to enter this place.' But migration here is not limited to movement between countries. At the beginning of the performance, each dancer recounts how they moved from city to city, district to district, all from their birthplaces. 'In the end, this dance depicts the journey of humans or nonhumans who had to leave their native land for various reasons, embarking on a journey toward a faraway land,' said Jang. The two griots create music on stage using various instruments like the balafon, kora and djembe — some improvised, others rooted in tradition — while the dancers hum and sing along. With the audience sitting close in a circular formation on stage, tapping feet, brushing fabric and breathing create a delicate soundscape. 'During rehearsals, I usually sit on the floor instead of a chair to feel the energy of the dancers more intimately. When I saw this piece from that perspective, I just loved it. It was crucial to bring the audience into this energy," Jang said. Jang has been leading the Korean dance-based contemporary dance company since 2014. As its artistic director, she aims to create "dance that resonates with the soul." Jung, who won the top prize at the Seoul Arts Awards last year for her choreographic piece "Burnt Offering III," hopes to develop works that fully engage the entire ensemble. The 99 Art Company is preparing for a European tour later this year with "Burnt Offering III."
Korea Herald
12-02-2025
- Business
- Korea Herald
Art spending by private foundations tops W1tr
Corporate-run culture foundations in South Korea spent more than one trillion won ($689 million) over the last decade to promote arts and culture, according to the latest Arts Council Korea data. The agency run by the Culture Ministry found that 112 firms spent 2.3 trillion on various public projects from 2014-2023. Half the funds, or 1.1 trillion won, went to advancing arts and culture. In 2023, when the number of corporate-run arts and culture foundations reached 112, their sponsorship of arts and culture totaled more than 182.4 billion won. The CJ Cultural Foundation contributed the most to advancing arts and culture, according to Arts Council Korea. The council scored companies on the total amount spent, transparency in execution and concrete results among other metrics that looked into whether the foundations practiced the latest environmental, social and governance principles. The Daelim Cultural Foundation came in second, followed by the Samsung Foundation of Culture, the Paradise Cultural Foundation and the Hansol Culture Foundation -- all cultural arms of Korean conglomerates. Smaller company contributions were led by the Smilegate Foundation, the Woojin Culture Foundation, the United Foundation and the Junglim Architecture Foundation. Arts Council Korea noted that businesses' interest in promoting the arts remains weak. Only 32 out of Korea's 88 leading companies have set up culture foundations, the agency said, pointing out that a 36 percent participation rate does not match Korea's rising global profile as a culture powerhouse. 'Companies can take on initiatives themselves promoting art projects, but public projects led by their culture arms like foundations lead to lasting impact,' said Choung Byoung-gug, the agency chairperson. 'We will do our part to make it easier for companies to launch culture foundations,' Choung added. Choung believed Korean content may be gaining global popularity because the government has earmarked dedicated funds to foster cultural content. It is now time for private companies to come forward, according to Choung. 'Take for example, Hermes and Louis Vuitton,' he said, adding, 'The French luxury houses are active in expanding cultural outreach through foundations they run.'
Korea Herald
05-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Korea Herald
Arts Council Korea launches integrated platform for arts
The website offers services in four languages Arts Council Korea has launched a new platform, integrating five websites run by the government's funding agency for the arts and non-profit organizations. The website directly links those accessing it to a variety of sites, including Arko's website, Arko arts archives, a digital archive of Korean art and a public art portal. The website is also available in Korean, English, Chinese and Japanese. 'We brought all the programs together on a single platform as people had difficulty locating the scattered information. We will announce notices or competitions so that artists can easily access such information and have an opportunity to expand their artistic career," said Choung Byoung-gug, chairperson of Arko. Arko operates a total of 25 websites, five of which were integrated into the new platform, according to the organization. Arko, the largest funding agency for arts, is governed by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and is the commissioner for the Korean Pavilion at the Venice Biennale.
